Scammers Preying on Unemployed, Sending Job Offer Emails

It's a cruel scheme to play on the unemployed: A scammer pretending to be from a human resources department at a construction company emailed consumers offering jobs.

The emails apparently looked official, even displaying a BBB Accredited Business seal, linked to the real business credit report of FBN Construction in Dayton, Ohio.

But BBB officials said there was a catch: Would-be workers were told to go to a website and fill out a personal information form, which was then used to steal credit information from hundreds of applicants nationwide."It has happened in every market across the U.S.," said John North, president of the BBB in Dayton, where the real company is located. "Currently the same company has set up the exact same scam claiming to be JHK Construction in Phoenix. We have also found that consumers from all over the U.S. are being targeted."

Neither company has an official website, said North. These are the scam sites:

While the construction companies are real, the job offers were not. The offers -- full- or part-time work, even without any operational experience -- were just too good to be true.

"There are a lot of red flags with this situation," said North in a statement this week. "The email asks the consumers to set up a bank account for depositing income and provide the bank account information."

You should not submit bank information to companies until you've been hired formally, said North. Do not send personal information through clicking email links.

If you feel you've been taken by this scam, please contact your local BBB and Attorney General's office.